New booze quartet

Each time I hear that a bar's come up with a new cocktail, I can't help but wonder at what point the good ideas will run dry. Of course, there're still a good number of liquors waiting in the wings for a St. Germain-like resurgence (Galliano, anyone?). I'm sure that, like with Pantone colors, just when you think there couldn't possibly be anything new, they come up with Tangerine Tango.

Here are some new concoctions that have gotten my attention recently:

The Vienna Crush at URBN—Ballast Point Fugu Vodka, apricot liqueur, lemon, fresh blueberry. I love Ballast Point's description of how it makes its vodka—after a 15-level filtration process, "finally, it passes through a proprietary diamond-blending vortex ." This is a very pretty drink—it looks pretty; it tastes pretty. I downed three and felt fine. And I adore the little candied-blueberry garnish.

In April, I wrote about The Propagandist, the Downtown, underground bar that served up what became my favorite cocktail—the mouth-numbingly spicy Mango En Fuego. Last week, The Propagandist rolled out a new menu and fortunately kept the habanero around for the Arch Nemesis (muddled cucumber and habanero, agave nectar, St. Germain, Herradura Silver tequila, ginger-beer topping). It's a well-balanced drink, with its range of floral to spice—though, not too spicy. There's also the Carlo Monte—WoodfordReserve Double Oaked Bourbon, Benedictine, powdered sugar, egg, orange bitters. The powdered sugar surprised me a bit—in cooking, it tends to clump. But in this drink, it breaks up nicely and complements the creaminess of the egg and Benedictine.

Last month, I wrote about the delicious spiced cherries created by JSix's Lauren Lathrop. They were on my mind when I came across the video posted on West Coast Tavern's website, in which bartender Justin Elmore demonstrates how he makes apple-infused bourbon (apples, cinnamon sticks, star anise; for the bourbon, Elmore recommends using Woodford Reserve). Head to West Coast to try it in the Gold Rush—infused bourbon, lemon juice, honey simple syrup and orange-zest garnish.